BRING ON THE NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

Hope everyone has a great 2006!

Holiday Around the Ol' Apartment!

Christmas is a time for acting silly when the kids stop over!
Even "Stan the Skeleton Man" got into the spirit!I just love the present Alex got me! The famous "matrioshka" from Russia (the character depicts a circus performer not a Ukrainian robbery victim!)

Me, Alex, and Jeff

Don't you think the festive fake banana tree in the background added that extra holiday touch?

Had a great Christmas hanging around the apartment. Got to sleep in late for once. Man did that feel good! Fixed breakfast then opened presents from friends. I'm speechless for all the wonderful gifts and so fortunate!

The kids stopped by later that evening- Alex my daughter and her fiance Jeff. Great time sitting around catching up with one another.

Okay now we get geared up to ring in the New Year!

Later,

All My Presents Are Wrapped and The Champagne is Chilled!

Taking a break to hang out with Santa and the elves. Wishing everyone a happy Christmas. Be merry and spread some joy this weekend!

Later,

'Tis the Season. Good Tidings My Friend

"At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year"
-Thomas Tusser

What Is It About Leather?

From a recent email:

When a woman wears leather clothing, ........

A man's heart beats quicker,
his throat gets dry,

he goes weak in the knees,
and he begins to think irrationally.

Ever wonder why?


Because she smells like a new truck.

Mystery solved.

Ever Been Eaten By a Whale? ......Fear Not!

I was wondering today, as I ran 12 miles on the treadmill suffering from the chest cold from HELL- How could you survive being eaten by a whale?

Well, I'm in luck. Found this helpful website that gives the answers! If survival on the high seas is important to you then hit the link below and scroll down to the section titled "Advice for Swallowees".
Simple yet effective, huh?

What To Do If You're Ever Eaten By A Whale

Later,

Time to Reflect........

"I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there"
-Herb Caen

Got Runny Nose? Don't Let It Get You Down!!

Well it hit me. Whatever is going around has hit me like a ton of bricks. I feel like crap and my head is all stopped up. Did a little research on the internet and discovered a lot of doctors are recommending "nasal irrigation" to help rinse the sinuses and relieve the pressure of all the nasty stuff that accumulates in there.

So, I mixed up a pretty simple saline solution:
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
into 8 oz. of luke warm water

Applying the solution is tricky. You have to put your face over the sink with your left nostril pointing down and your nose a little higher than your mouth. The saline gets into your right nasal cavity by pouring or using a nasal bulb. The solution drains out your left nostril if done correctly. It was a little cumbersome at first but I finally got the hang of it.

Boy could I tell a difference. I'll continue to drink plenty of water and take my regime of Zinc and multi-vitamins. Why Zinc you ask? Well, Zinc is required for the development and activation of T-lymphocytes, a kind of white blood cell that helps fight infection. That should shorten the time frame of the cold. The vaporizer is helping also!

Later,

Inflatable Santa?

(Yes, that is a large candy cane next to Mr. Snowman.... Why else would he be smiling?)

So,
I'm standing in Wal-Mart buying a can of fake snow and silly putty when it hits me. Have you guys noticed something strange this year? Yep, that's right- Christmas yard decorations keep getting bigger. Just a couple of years ago the average "Griswold" house was considered fully decked out if more that one side of the house had lights hanging all over it. Then came the lighted wire reindeer yard ornaments. This year the popular items are- INFLATABLE SANTAS!!!!!

Good golly, how gawdy can you get? There damn near everywhere you go. I'll bet every neighborhood in Charlotte has at least one idiot family with a gargantuan Santa swaying in the breeze. Talk about scaring kids. Where the hell do you store something like that? No wonder "Pods" and mini warehouses are so popular.

Now, being Italian, my family was never much on holiday yard ornaments. To heck with lights, good Italians focused on food during the month of December. I'll never forget growing up. Without fail, Mama would bake her famous holiday lasagna in the shape of a turkey and Papa would carve it just like a real bird. There was nothing better than inviting guests over and serving them a "leg or wing". They'd always look stunned! How festive!

Anyway back to the discussion on decorations. This year will be the first year in memory that I'm not living in a "house" with a live Christmas tree. Don't worry I'm not sad since I've found a suitable replacement. The fake banana tree in my apartment will soon be transformed into a tropical Yule time masterpiece. A little tinsel should do the trick.

Get the eggnog ready!

Damn the French and Their Fine-Mesh Dragnets!

Wait a minute, just had a thought. My Italian ancestors must have been involved in the anchovy industry since the image of a fishing net keeps popping into my mind. Why do I think this? I don't know.

Anchovy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The anchovies are a family (Engraulidae) of small but common schooling saltwater plankton-feeding fish. They are found in scattered areas the throughout the world's oceans, but are concentrated in temperate waters, and rare or absent in very cold or very warm seas.

Biology
The anchovy is a small green fish with blue reflections dorsal to a silver longitudinal stripe that runs from the base of the caudal fin. It is a maximum nine inches in length and body shape is variable with more slender fish in northern populations. The snout is blunt with small, sharp teeth in both jaws. The mouth is larger than those of herrings and silversides, two fish which they closely resemble. It eats plankton and fish larvae.

It is generally very accepting of a wide range of temperatures and salinity.Large schools can be found in shallow, brackish areas with muddy bottoms, as in estuaries and bays.

Spawning occurs between October and March, but not in water colder than 54 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius). The anchovy appears to spawn 100 kilometers from the shore, near the surface of the water.

As a food source
The anchovy is a food source for almost every predatory fish in its environment, including the California halibut, rock fish, yellow tail tuna, sharks, chinook, and coho salmon. It is also extremely important to marine mammals and birds; for example, California brown pelicans and elegant terns, whose breeding success is strongly connected to anchovy abundance.

They are also eaten by humans. Anchovies preserved by gutting and salting in brine, matured, then packed in oil, are an important food fish, both popular and unpopular for their strong flavor. In Roman times, they were the base for the fermented fish sauce called garum that was a staple of cuisine and an item of long-distance commerce produced in industrial quantities. Today they are a key ingredient in Caesar salad and Spaghetti alla Puttanesca, and are occasionally used as a pizza topping. Because of the strong flavor they are also an ingredient in several sauces, including Worcestershire sauce and many other fish sauces, and in some versions of Café de Paris butter. Fishermen also use anchovies as bait for larger fish such as tuna and sea bass.

The strong taste that people associate with anchovies is due to the curing process. Fresh anchovies, known in Italy as alici, have a much softer and gentler flavor. In English-speaking countries, alici are sometimes called "white anchovies", and are often served in a weak vinegar marinade.

European anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus is the anchovy of commerce. Morocco now leads the world in canned anchovies. The anchovy industry along the coast of Cantabria now dwarfs the traditional Catalan salters, though the industry was only initiated in Cantabria by Sicilian salters in the mid 19th century.

Fishing
Overfishing of anchovies has been a problem. Since the 1980s, large mechanized anchovy fishing vessels based in France have caught the fish in fine-mesh dragnets.

Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon

"He who would leap high must take a long run"
-Danish Proverb

UPDATE! I did it! Rode across the USA on a bicycle! Check out my journal of the adventure here at: Three Spokes and a Mirror

The inaugural running of Charlotte's Thunder Road Marathon took place on Saturday December 3, 2005. What a day it was! Starting temperatures hovered around 40 degrees with mostly cloudy skies. Pretty good conditions considering we had mostly cloudy skies all day with a 5 mph wind out of the South. Cold front and rain moved in by late afternoon.

Our local running store- Run For Your Life- resurrected the Charlotte Marathon this year. Previously, the Charlotte Observer was the main sponsor but dropped the race after an embezzlement scandal hit several years ago. While there were over 700 registered for the marathon at packet pick-up on Friday the official race taly indicates there were 686 finishers.

This course was much different than past years. The route had 50 turns! Sounds like an Indy race instead of a stock car race huh? The new course resulted in over 370 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officers to man the intersections and keep the runners safe. Heck, even the Chief of Police came out and manned an intersection. How 'bout that for hands on leadership? I'm proud of the local police force and heard many runners give similar compliments.

Now, as far as the course, the first half was rather hilly and traced through familiar running routes including the SouthPark and Dilworth areas. Fabulous homes and beautiful tree lined streets. I was surprised to see my time was 1:57 at mile 13. Smokin' for me. I try to remember to keep a good steady pace since I don't want to repeat the big drop off I had at Marine Corp Marathon on October 30. We'll see how it goes.

As we crossed the halfway point we wander around the Bank of America Stadium before heading North to the North Davidson or "NoDa" section of town. This area has seen new development and quickly became Charlotte's art and cultural section. If you've followed previous posts, you'll know this is were my favorite live music venue is- the Neighborhood Theatre. Spectators were sparse in NoDa except for the concentration of fans at the turn at 35th Street. Music and noise abound! Thanks!

The course now heads toward the Plaza/Midwood area. Funny, I flash back to my childhood as I run here. You see I used to live on Belvedere Ave. This area has revitalized as well. Lots of young professionals moving there and driving the real estate market up. It's not unusual for homes to be priced in the $3-400,000 range. The course snakes through the neigborhood and eventually onto Hawthorne Lane. There is a killer hill along this part of the course but the last hill before the finish.

I'm feeling pretty good and check out my time on the many time clocks on the course. I'm amazed at my pace. By all calculations I'll PR if I can keep it up. The last part of the course provides a fantastic view of the Charlotte skyline. It's all but over now. I turn onto the 2nd street and spot the finish line. I hear our "scream team" president- Wendy- yelling for me and I make it across the line at 4:20. WOOHOO!!! A PR for me.

Depicted above is the Thunder Road medal and picture of friend Ricky Scott from Virginia (L) and me just before the start.

Later,

Marc

Life Lesson # 79

Ever had one of those days when nothing seems to go right? You know, little things start happening the minute you wake up? You nick yourself shaving, you get out of the shower and discover there's no clean towels, you burn the coffee, you don't have any food for breakfast, then you rip a hole in your sock! Been there, done that.

Well today, I make it to work in one piece then get hit with a million little "fires" all of which require about 2-3 hours to sort through. Today was suppose to be an easy day- yeah right.

The afternoon has to be better.

Time for a quick restroom break. Business finished, I wash my hands only to discover there's no paper towels. What to do? Hey those toilet seat covers look like they'll work. I grab about five out of the wall holder and immediately determine this is not a good idea. You see, toilet seat covers are apparently made from the thinnest paper in the world and begin to disintegrate the minute moisture hits them.

Now picture this- I'm standing there, hands dripping wet holding onto what now looks like a glob of papier-mache for a 7th grade art project. I try to wash all of this off my hands but of course that wasn't too smart. The sink drain clogs up from all the toilet seat cover "pulp" and I'm mad as hell. So I'm flailing my hands in the air trying to dry them before someone comes in and sees me having a freakin' hysterical fit! A sight to behold.......

Life lesson learned today-AVOID DRYING YOUR HANDS WITH THE TOILET SEAT COVERS. THEY AIN"T PAPER TOWELS!!!!!!

Did You Just Blow Feathers Out Of Your Nose?

Reading the internet news sites has me worried. All you hear out of Asia is bird flu, bird flu, bird flu. Seems like there have been several confirmed human bird flu deaths recently. The reports say the victims contracting the nasty stuff from handling or eating infected poultry. The big question now is how much of a global problem this will become. All the major health agencies are hyping it to be the next pandemic. I know, I know, big scary word pandemic.

So, after being invited over to a friends house for Thanksgiving dinner and sitting there feasting on the best tasting bird I've had in a while, I came to a decision. No more poultry for me until bird flu season passes. Now, this is going to be tough since poultry is such a big part of my life. It is doable however.

I thought I could achieve this by switching from poultry to fish but there's already a fish flu- Nanophyetiasis. Humans get it by ingesting infected fish and it's parasitic in origin. AAARRRGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

What to do?

Sure can't find a damn flu shot to prevent the stuff so it looks like a diet of vegetables, fruit, and rice are the best ways to avoid getting sick this season. Oh, and I'll be sure to include frequent handwashing and a daily multi-vitamin!

Later,

Gimme a Big Old Chunk Of It!

One thing about being single, you definitely learn to eat on the cheap and out of cans. Now I've been trying different brands of tuna fish over the past several months and finally discovered a favorite. The criteria was simple- great taste and quality. While the brands I sampled tasted pretty much all the same it became apparent that quality would be the deciding factor. Quality to me was measured in how "chunky" the tuna was. Bumble Bee, Starkist, and most of the generic store brands were all losers. I began to wonder if the tuna packed in these brands were leftovers from the packing room floor. Drain the water out of these cans and you'll end up with half the contents slipping away down the sink. Some people may like this style and I suppose if you were making some mutant kind of tuna fish salad it would be easier to mix in all the other ingredients. Not me.

The winner and hands down favorite in my apartment- Chicken of the Sea. I've yet to find a bad can of Chicken of the Sea tuna. Talk about chunk's (it's the chunkiest national brand. Says so right on the label)! There's real tuna fish meat in every can. Keep in mind how important this is for a bachelor. It's so much easier eating chunky tuna right out of the can. You can use a fork or chopsticks instead of a spoon. Mix in a little rice or instant potatoes and you've got a quick and easy meal.

AAHHHH, the joys of being a satisfied man.........


Later,

Damn, That Was Good!

Just can't say enough about Paul Thorn and his band at the Neighborhood Theater Friday night. The down home boy from Tupelo, Mississippi brought the house down. Paul told his trademark stories between songs and sang a whole list of favorites. Best of all is when he invited all the ladies up on stage (Not the best looking bunch and there were some "Man Ladies" mixed in the group).

Then during the encore he did it again, this time inviting everyone who wished they'd gotten up on stage the first time. The show ended like an old time tent revival. Can't say I've ever seen as many drunk people singing "Will the Circle Be Unbroken"........

AMEN Brother!!!

Paul Thorn is a definite must see when he makes it back to the city.

Let's Take a Moment to Consider the Common Fig

So, I'm sitting in the dentist's office waiting to see if I need a root canal and I pick up an old copy of Backpacker Magazine. Flipping through the pages, I spot a little blurb about, of all things, FIGS! Man, I never really considered the fig as anything special but was I ever wrong.

Seems like this super fruit has been revered throughout the ages. Fig remnants have been found in archeological digs dating back to at least 5000 BC. Ancient cultures considered the fig tree a symbol of peace and plenty, abundance and initiation, and power and life. It was a sacred luxury fruit.

Plato called figs "food for athletes" and rightly so. Figs are fat free, sodium free, and cholesterol free. The fruit contains proteolytic enzyme which aids digestion and also psoralens which is used to treat skin pigmentation diseases and promotes tanning. Figs have more dietary fiber (both soluble and insoluble) than any other fruit and provides 526.18 mg of potassium and .29 mg of manganese not to mention iron and calcium. Their high alkaline rate has even helped people quit smoking.

Gophers love to chew on fig tree roots while birds love to peck away at the fruit itself. All harvested figs in the United States come from California's Central Valley.

Now, knowing all this information caused me to go out and buy a tub o' figs at my local grocery store yesterday. I must say they're purdy darn tasty! I consumed a half dozen for breakfast this morning then went out and had a short jog in the chilly air. I felt remarkable and damn if my skin doesn't feel more toned!

Summary- GO EAT SOME FIGS!!

Time to get Exhausted!

I'm very excited. Seems like a fellow Mangum Track Club member, Tom Gabell, is planning a 24 hour run in North Carolina in 2006! I've been intrigued with the idea of doing a 24 hour run ever since completing two Ultra-Marathons (one 50 mile run and one 50k run). Heck, just to be out with friends is reason enough for me to stay up all day and night.

If all goes well the run will take place on a new lake trail near Rockingham, NC. Tom says it's flat and measures 1.5 miles. The trail will officially open in early 2006 so there needs to be more discussion on the exact date, logistics, etc...

Guess I better start stocking up on water, gels, e-tabs, and other assorted foodstuffs.

Spreading Idiosyncratic Messages - What???

Had a great 12 mile run this morning. Got a late start since I was out late for 2 nights in a row! My cheap little mp3 player made the time fly by. The earbuds need to go though.

Sir Elton comes to Charlotte Bobcats Arena. Some one asked me earlier if he was the Queen of England. Good question. We may get the answer after seeing what he's wearing during the show.

Lots of friends will be there tonight, maybe not all Elton John fans but at least it's a good excuse to get out and see the brand new building. Go ahead indulge in some Center City nightlife afterwards.

Just added a couple of links to the site, the cult favorite "All Your Base Are Belong To Us" and the "Moon Song".

From Wikipedia:
"All your base are belong to us." (sometimes referred to as "All Your Base" or abbreviated AYBABTU or simply AYB) is a phrase that sparked an Internet phenomenon in 2001 and 2002. The text is taken from the poorly-translated opening found in the English version of the Japanese video game Zero Wing, originally produced by Toaplan in 1989. Groups of game enthusiasts began to digitally alter various images to include the phrase. Eventually, these images were collected together onto one site and a Flash animation produced from them, which was widely downloaded. The original Quicktime movie can be found here. The most popular version of the video, set to music by The Laziest Men on Mars, can be found here.

The infamous quotations were taken from the European localization of the Sega Mega Drive port released in 1992. The arcade version of Zero Wing does not include the quote, nor any other dialogue; the intro for the PC Engine version has CD quality spoken dialogue, but has a completely different introduction. Zero Wing was never released in North America, and therefore never came to the Sega Genesis, the North American Mega Drive.

"All Your Base" is interesting because it demonstrated the Internet's power to quickly spread idiosyncratic messages that would never have been covered by the traditional mass media. Although the fad has died down, the phrase continues to be one of the most commonly quoted examples of "Engrish". The phrase is also often used as a battle cry on many competitive video games, particularly ones played over the Internet.

Take a break and sing along. It'll make ya smile........

REK,REK,REK!

Live music was back at the Neighborhood Theater on November 9th with a visit from 'ol favorite Robert Earl Keen. I was first in line and able to snag a great seat once the doors opened. The house was packed with an older, rowdy, beer drinking crowd. One guy drove down from Virginia to catch the act. The sound was decent. Lots of people sang along all night long. You could definitely tell who the Keen fans were. The highlight was a rousing rendition of "Merry Christmas from the Family" Simply brought the house down! Great encore set. We all got our moneys worth.

Paul Thorn is playing November 18th. May have to go to that one.

How to Speak French

Found this tidbit in another email thread.........


President Bush has authorized the Joint Chiefs to begin drawing up a battle plan to pull France's ass out of the fire again.

Facing an apparent overwhelming force of up to 400 pissed-off teenagers, Mr. Bush doubts France's ability to hold off the little maggots.

"If the last two world wars are any indication, I would expect France to surrender any day now," said Bush. Joint Chiefs head, Gen. Peter Pace, warned the President that it might be necessary to send up to five Marines to get things under control.

The general admitted that five Marines may be overkill, but he wanted to get this thing under control within 24 hours of arriving on scene. He stated, though, that he was having a hard time finding even one Marine who would volunteer to help the French out for a third time.

President Bush asked Gen. Pace to get our Marines out of there as soon as possible after order was restored. He also reminded Gen. Pace to make sure the Marines did not take soap, razors, or deodorant with them. "The less they stand out, the better," he said.

Getting Back Into The Swing

Well, it's time to start back running to get ready for the Charlotte "Thunder Road" marathon on December 3, 2005. This is new territory for me, three marathons in 3 months (MCM, Charlotte, and the Disney Triple) I plan on doing at least 4 miles in the morning and then run at least 12 this weekend. I hope I have a good enough base!

Having Fun

"The most potent muse of all is our own inner child"

--Stephen Nachmanovitch

Just Great Harmony

"Del McCoury and the Boys" visited the Neighborhood Theater Friday night and played a two hour set with Dread Clampitt opening. Dell and the band pumped out some of the best Blue Grass music I've heard in a while-nothing but smooth. After a set of introductory tunes Dell moved on to play songs requested by the crowd. I'm still in awe at all the great harmony and crisp instrumental sounds. A good time was had by all. If Dell ever visits your city go see him. You won't be disappointed.

Watch This....

"Humor is a rubber sword- it allows you to make a point without drawing blood"-- Mary Hirsch

Sure They Look Funny

.........but they're oh so comfortable. Succumb to the rubber shoe! Your feet will thank you for it.

HOOAHH! (Say It Like Ya Mean It Boy)

Had a great time at Marine Corp Marathon this past weekend. We couldn't have asked for better weather-cool temps and clear blue skies. I started out too fast and suffered in the end. I was 2:06 at the half then felt the hammer drop at around mile 17. Completed the course in 4:54. This was the 30th running of the MCM and the finishers medal was super nice.

Now on to do "Thunder Road" in Charlotte, NC on December 3, 2005 then the Disney triple run in January 2006. Pray there's no shortage of liquid Advil!